Improvement in rotary engines



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i Letters Patent No.4105,708, dated July 26, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY ENGINES.

The Schedule referred to ln these Letters Patent and making part pf the same.

To all whom 'it may` concern "Be it known thatI, EDWIN D.z MEAD, ol' Shortsville, Ontario county, vin the State of'rNew York, have 'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Itotary Stearn-Engines;` and I hereby declare the following to be a full `and exact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification. p

The-natureor essence of my invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of devices described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawing.

Figure l is a cross-section of` the cylinder through "the supply and exhaust-ports.

Figure 2 showsthe end of the cylinder and the arrangement of the gearing.

Figure 3 is a central section of the cylinder, cut lengthwise.

Figure 4 is the inside of one ofthe heads E or F.

4In the drawing- A is afcyluder, bored through the center, as shown at B, fig. 1, for the 'rotating winged piston C to turn in, which is fastened to the shaft D, to turn it, and

communicate the power ofthe engine to the machinery to be driven by it.-

The cylinder A has two heads, E and F, which `are l fastened to the cylinder with screws G G,- and perforated for the shaft D of the piston andthe shafts I I of the cut-off cylinders, of which there may be three or more, as preferred.,

The cylinder Agis also bored parallel toB, for the cut-oli' cylinders J J, which are fastened to the shafts I I, which are provided` with gears I', turned by the gear D', on the piston-shaft D, so that the .piston C and cut-olf cylinders J J all have the samenumberof `revfrolntions per minute. 4

The piston O andf cut-off cylinders-J .I are all of the same size, and their ends beyond the wings K of the piston, and the grooves L of the cylinder cut-offs, nay roll in contact or very near together.

The wings K of the piston may be made' inthe form shown in the drawing, and provided with a clasped-shaped packing, as shown in Figure 6, to work' ag'amst the sides ofB and into' the grooves L L in the cut-off cylinders, as Vshown in iig. l.

The endsofthe piston C are bored larger than the shaft, to form the chambers H at each end of the cylinder. From one of these chambers there are'supplyports or openings N, for the steam to enter the cylinder B, andturn the piston inthe direction of the` arrow, fig. 5,"and as the wing K passes by the cut-off cylinder, the steam venters the; opening vP, and ex. hausts through itinto the chamber H', at the opposite end of the cylinder.` The 'grooves L in the cutci cylinders are segments of circles.

There isa hole bored in the cylnderA and into the headsE and F, as shown in ig. 3, for the faucet-plug M, which is provided with a stem through the head E, and a hand-wheel, Q, to turn it, and let the steam i .on and shut it od'.

The plug M serves the snpply-portR, through which the steam enters, (see ig.,1,) and the exhaustport S, through which the steam escapes, being grooved on one side, toward vthe head E, to supply the steam to the passage 'l iu the head E, which opens into the chamber H of the piston, as shown in iig. 3. And the plug M is grooved on the opposite side, opening into the exhaust or escape-port S, so that the steam, which passes through'P into the chamber H', passes from the chamber into the passage V, and from thence by the side ofthe plug M to the exhaustport S, through which it passes out of the engine.

To pack the cut-oli' cylinders, I drill four small holes, a a, near each cylinder, through the cylinder A, and out a slot or opening from the holes c c tothe cylinders J, as shown' in iig. 1, and make some triangular bars b b to t the slots, and put some fibrous or other elastic packing in the holes a a, behind the bars, to press them out against the cylinders and stop the steam, and as the bars b b are longer than the grooves L in `the cylinders, so as to rest on the circular ends of the cylinders, while the grooves L are passing under or by the bars, or, in` other words, the circular heads of the cylinders J prevent the packingbars b from entering the grooves L in the cylinders.;A

' As the wings K do n ot extend the whole length of the cylinder, I make some segments, W lV, iig. 4, on the inside ofthe heads, to project into the openingB,

and prevent the steam from passing the ends of the' wings K.

Infig. 3, d is a ring on the shaft I, which lits the end of the bushing j, .whiclFis screwed through the head F, and some librous or other packing may be put in the space It, to pack the endsof the cylinder-s. l

If the hole in the cylinder and the plug M are both made tapering,lthey can be easily fitted tight. By' turning'the plug M half-way round the motion ofthe engine will be reversed.

I makeV some packing-rings, j j, to iit the pistonshaft D, with circular tlanges lo, to 't grooves in the journal-boxes, so Vthat some fibrous or other packing may be put under cap j, around the shaft, and the nut' l, on the shaft, screwed up to make it tight.

Instead ofthe plug M and the ways to and from the piston for the steam, I contemplate that the piston-shaft may be made hollow, and the steam supplied at one end and escape or exhaust at the vother end of the hollow shaft. Also, that the gearing at one end may bedispensed with.

I further contemplate that my engine may be run by the pressure of water, instead of steam, and that it may be used as a pump if turned by some power.

By using three cut-oil cylinders-the steam acts on one or more of the piston wings constantly, and will keep the engine in motion without the use of a batance vor fly-wheel; and, besides, the steam cannot blow through .the engine without turning the piston, as it might do if only two cut-oil cylinders were used.

I claim- 1. The combination and arrangement of the central feed and central discharge, around the shaft and into the end of the cylinder, with the two-Winged piston C K, and three or more rotating cut-off cylinders, J J J, and two-way supplying plug, M, the whole being constructed to operate as described. v 2. In combination with the grooved cuto rotary cylinders J J, the circular head and packing-bars b b, substantially as described.

EDWIN D.' MEAD.

Witnesses:

P. L. WOODRUFF, H. E. WOODRUFF. 

